TODAY: Watch the total eclipse today during a viewing event at Emmet County Fairgrounds

November 13, 2012

Courtesy/Wiki

November's New Moon arrives on today, Nov. 13, in rare astronomical and cultural style, causing a Total Solar Eclipse for viewers on the other side of the world and marking the New Year in the Islamic calendar.

Here in Emmet County, home to one of only seven International Dark Sky Parks in the U.S., county staff are planning an event and live video stream of the eclipse as it carves a path across Northern Australia and the Southern Pacific Ocean.

The public is invited to watch from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Emmet County Fairgrounds Community Building in Petoskey. The event will feature live images streamed from the SLOOH camera, and live interactive narration by solar astronomers from Britain and Spain.

Why make a big deal out of it here in Northern Michigan where we won't be able to see it?

"There won't be a Total Solar Eclipse visible from the United States until August 2017, but with the use of today's technology, we can experience this one as it's occurring on the other side of the world," said Mary Stewart Adams, Program Director for the Headlands International Dark Sky Park. "I worked with the International Astronomers Union Office of Astronomy Development in South Africa to find the solar astronomy experts who will interact with us on the 13th, and we've been at work in the County IT Department setting up our connections and projection equipment. It's an ambitious undertaking that promises to be a fun event, and as always it's free and open to the public -- not to mention that it promises to be educational for all ages."

A Total Solar Eclipse can only occur when the Moon comes to New Phase at the point on its orbital path that places it directly between the Earth and the Sun. Eclipses happen rhythmically each year, but Total Eclipses are rare enough to still cause excitement within and beyond the international community of astronomers, Adams noted.

The Eclipse Event will take place in an "open house" style, meaning guests are welcome to drop in anytime, or arrive at the beginning and stay throughout, as suits their schedule. Refreshments will be provided.